On June 22-23, Dushanbe (Tajikistan) hosted the 2nd Central Asian Internet Governance Forum (CAIGF) https://caigf.org/ru/. The event brought together experts in internet development and governance: representatives of government agencies in Central Asian countries, as well as telecom and IT companies, research centers and non-governmental organizations from across the world. A delegation of the Coordination Center for TLD .RU/.РФ (CC for TLD .RU) also took part in the forum.
On June 22, CC for TLD.RU Deputy Director Andrei Romanov attended a roundtable discussion, “How Multi-Stakeholder Governance Is Implemented in the Region,” during which he spoke about the Netoscope project and the Institute of Competent Organizations under CC for TLD .RU. In his speech, he dwelt on cooperation between various interested parties – state organizations, private companies and public associations – in exposing, analyzing and neutralizing harmful content.
On the second day of the forum, Deputy Head of CC for TLD .RU Information Service Mikhail Anisimov attended a roundtable meeting, “The Threats and Realities of Cyber Extremism in Central Asia.” He talked about the role of digital hygiene and education standards in enhancing information security for internet users. As an example of such work with users, Anisimov cited a series of lectures CC for TLD .RU experts conduct at schools and universities in Russia. The program of the lectures encompasses the cyber security experience of CC for TLD .RU and its partners. This experience is effective against phishing, malware and personal data theft. Aside from the younger generation, similar work is being carried out with parents, teachers and even librarians. In addition, Mikhail Anisimov spoke about the Explore the Internet & Govern It! game that makes it possible to teach children the basics of cyber security in an easy-to-grasp game-playing manner.
“For Central Asia, the problem of enhancing media literacy is very important. So far, the rate of internet coverage in the republic is still fairly low. But the past few years have seen a significant rise in the use of information technologies in the region. As a result, demand for education programs and training courses to improve cyber security skills has soared. I hope that our experience will prove helpful for our colleagues in the Central Asian region,” Mikhail Anisimov said.
The 1st Central Asian Internet Governance Forum, which took place in Kyrgyzstan in 2016, gathered over 200 participants. The forum became an open platform for debates on internet governance policies in Central Asian countries.
